Pile-covering



(No Model.)

0. H. STANIFORTH.

PILE COVERING.

No. 550,927. Patented Dec. 3, 1895.

' UNITED STATES PATENT CFFIcE.

CHARLES H. STANIFORTI-I, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

PlLE-COVERING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 550,927, dated December 3, 189 5.

' Application filed Apr-i125, 1895. Serial No. 547,173. (No model.)

T0 or whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES H STANI- FORTH, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city and county of San Francisco and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Pile-Coverings, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to the covering of piles and other partially-submerged structures to protect them against the teredo, and it has for its object to produce an effective and durable covering or protection that can be readily and cheaply applied to piles and to'the sub merged portions "of other wooden structures.

To such ends and objects my invention consists in the pile-covering constructed, produced, and formed as hereinafter fully set forth, reference being had in the following description to the drawings that accompany and form a part of this specification.

Figure 1 represents in elevation the upper portion .of a driven pile protected at the exposed portion by my covering. Fig. 2 is a segment of a round pile in horizontal section, on an enlarged scale, with a portion of the protecting-covering attached.

My improved covering or protection is made by taking long strips of one-half-inch by twoinch stuff of suitable length and charring the surface of each strip on all the four faces or sides to the depth of one-sixteenth of an inch or thereabout and afterward laying these charred strips lengthwise against the pile in close relation and one against the other all around the pile, with the narrow side against the pile, and securing them to the pile and to each other by nailing, each strip being set in place and nailed separately and in such man- I ner that the nails are covered, concealed, and protected. 1

In proceeding to produce and apply this improved covering to a pile the strips A A are first prepared by exposing them in a chamber or furnace to the flames of burning petroleum, such as is'used for fuel, and for a sufficient length of time to char the faces of the strips to a depth of about one-sixteenth of an inch, as indicated at a I The strips are set up edgewise in rows, with spaces left between them for the flames to play against the sides and over the tops, and the length of the operation is determined by testing one or several of the strips from time to time. The strips thus prepared are fixed to the pile one at a time by laying each strip with its edge or narrow side against the surface of the pile, the bark having been previously removed, and it is secured by toenailing into the pile, as indicated at N N, Fig. 2. As one strip is thus secured another strip is set edgewise against the pile and closely to the previouslyset strip, and it is fastened in turn to the pile by toenailing and also to the previously-placed strip by nailing through it, as indicated at N N Fig. 2.

The strips are carried around and fastened in this manner to the whole circumference or surface of that portion of the pile which is to be protected, and the last strip to complete the covering is inserted into the space to be filled between the first and the last set strip, after which it is fastened to the pile by nailing through it into the pile, as indicated at N- N, Fig. 1, and also by nailing into the strips on either side. The pile thus finished is afterward driven to place.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The herein described covering for piles and other marine structures as a protection from the teredo, consisting of narrow and relatively thin strips of wood carbonized on all sides and laid edgewise in close order against the pile around the entire circumference thereof, each strip being nailed to the pile at the inner edge and also secured by nailing it to the previously-laid strip, as hereinbefore set forth. I g

2. The combination, with a pile or other marine structure, of the narrow and relatively thin strips of wood -A placed edgewise against the pile or surface to be protected and laid closely together; and the fastening means N-N securing the strips to the surface and to one another; the faces of each strip being previously carbonized, as hereinbefore set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand and seal.

CHAS. H. STANIFORTH. \Vitnesses I.

EDWARD E. OSBORN, OHAs. E. KELLY. 

